Monthly Archives: December 2009

The Internet. Click, click, click. And you end up on some purely random site. Sometimes you end up on the worst designed webpage ever (please if you have not been trained in web design, hire someone)! Other times, you stumble upon something that is pure genius.

I read parts of the Rama series way back. This great vid (via Slashfilm) brought back all of the memories. Created by Aaron Ross while a student at NYU, this makes me want to change careers. I’d love to bring some of my favorite sci-fi stories to vid life. Especially, if I can get equipment and a room full of talent like James Cameron did.

The fam went to see Avatar this weekend. In a change of pace, my daughter is going to do the review. Enjoy!

Yesterday I went to go see the new movie Avatar with my family. I am 10 years old and this is my dad’s blog.

You should buy tickets for the movie Avatar because of the graphics. They were awesome! It even made it better with it in 3D. Only this 3D is different. Its not popping out at you, its more like you are in the movie with the characters.

You should also go see it because of the story. It was OK, not great. It was a familiar story line, a guy goes to a different place for some reason and he falls in love and loves it there. Over all I think it was a pretty good story.

In addition ,you should go see Avatar because of the characters. My favorite character was Neytiri. You’ll have to take your family to the movie to find out her role. The only thing I’ll tell you is that she plays a big role in the movie.

So as you can see, you should check out Avatar because of the graphics, the story, and the characters. My family might even buy it on Blu-ray when it comes out!

Yo! It seems like we just passed the Summer Solstice. Now, the northern hemisphere will be able to gain some reprieve from the darkness. Starting today, daylight time will continue to increase until we reach the maximum in June 2010. No more 5 PM darkness! Wahoo!

For this winter’s solstice, I bring you an image of Mercury as it transits the Sol. This is a very rare and magnificent image. Many of the scifi books that I have read feature humans living in colonies on Mercury. One of the most innovative (Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson) had a city on rails that traveled around the planet staying just ahead of the direct sunlight. My question: and why would we want to do this?

First, the V-22 Osprey has finally taken flight in combat. The good folks over at The Danger Room has some pics of the tilt-rotor hover-to-plane transforming craft over in AfPak. I remember seeing the first flights of the Osprey and then reading about the tragic crashes that followed. It’s good to see that enough progress has been made to make the ship combat-worthy.

The now-not-so-secret RQ-170 Sentinel

Also from The Danger Room, a sharp-eyed French photog caught the above image of a “mystery” plane also in use in AfPak. Dubbed the Beast of Kandahar, the Air Force recently confirmed that the image is of a new unmanned stealth reconnaissance plane, the RQ-170 Sentinel. The question on everyone’s lips is why do you need a stealth drone for use against guys running around the mountains with Kalashnikov’s. Anything to do with Iran being right next door? Hmmmm? Inquiring minds want to know.

The Hexagon @ Saturn's North Pole

And finally over on Bad Astronomy, Phil Plait highlights a great picture from the Cassini team of Saturn’s north pole. If you have not seen the above image, then be amazed! Yes, for some reason the storm raging at the top of Saturn rotates in the form of a hexagon! Wow! Scientists are still working to explain this one. I’m baffled! I can’t wait to read the theories they develop.

If you are a regular reader, you know that I love hard-core sci-fi. I’ve also become quite the military buff after becoming a huge fan of Tom Hanks’ and Steven Spielberg’s Band of Brothers. Now comes word that they are putting the finishing touches on a 10-part mini-series for the Pacific theatre of WWII. Here is the trailer for the new show which is set to debut in March 2010:

I’m super pumped about this. I just might have to get my HBO cut on so that I can watch it.

After a very busy Friday and Saturday with my daughter’s FLL competition, I had to get caught up on my web-browsing. These were two great video’s that lifted my spirits.

Slingers looks like a great new show! I’ll have to make sure I catch it when it comes on or over the web (nowadays is there a difference?). I love great stories with sci-fi just embedded. Where sci-fi/tech is not the main character!

And I’m a potter fan-boy to the end. While I’ll be sad when the movies are over (just as I was when the books ended), I can not wait until the final two movies are released in theatres.

Nerdy, Yet Smooth

Geordi

Calrissian

It was one year ago today that I started up Geordi Calrissian. And it has been great to have a place to share my thoughts and ideas about nerd life for a 30 something Black man in America. I have no clue as to how many people regularly read this blog. But, if you find your way here, I hope you truly enjoy it!

The anticipation is finally over! And in August 2010, Star Wars fanatics will descend on Orlando, Florida for Celebration V. Announced yesterday, the fifth iteration of the Star Wars mega-convention, the first in the US since 2006, will run from August 12 ~ 15, 2010. Tickets go on sale on Thursday, December 10.

Now mind you that the new Harry Potter theme park is set to open next year as well. My advice to any non-geeks, is to abandon the Orlando area next August. I can just imagine a large battle royale as members the Star Wars clan descend upon the Magical World of Harry Potter! Maybe we’ll see a repeat of scenes from Beat Street as the two groups battle it out B-Boy style with cries of “May the Force be with you!” mixed in with shouts of “Expecto Patronum”!